Mask
The mask gives you an air space in front of your eyes so you can see clearly. It must cover your nose, so you can equalize the pressure inside it. Fit is everything: a mask that leaks will spoil every dive.
Guide 02 · Equipment
Scuba gear for beginners
Scuba gear for beginners can feel like a long, expensive shopping list. It doesn't need to be. You can rent almost everything, and most divers buy a few personal items first and add the rest over time. Here is what each piece does, what to buy first and what to rent.
The kit
What each piece of scuba gear does
A complete scuba setup has three groups: what you see and move with, what keeps you warm, and what lets you breathe and control your depth.
Fins
Fins do your swimming. Full-foot fins slip on like shoes and suit warm-water boat diving. Open-heel fins are worn with boots, which protect your feet on shore entries and keep them warm in cooler water.
Exposure protection
Water draws heat away from your body much faster than air, so even tropical divers wear a wetsuit. Thickness depends on the water temperature. Cold-water divers may use a drysuit.
BCD
The buoyancy control device, or BCD, is the jacket or wing that holds your tank. You add or release air to float at the surface or to stay neutral underwater.
Regulator
The regulator turns the high-pressure air in your tank into air you can breathe. It includes your main second stage, a spare (the octopus) for sharing air, and a gauge that shows how much air you have left.
Dive computer
A dive computer tracks your depth and time and works out how long you can safely stay at depth. It also warns you if you ascend too fast. It is the single most useful piece of gear you can own.
Weights
Your body and wetsuit float, so weights help you descend. They are worn on a belt or in the BCD's pockets and can be dropped in an emergency. Good buoyancy means carrying only as much as you need.
Tank
The tank, or cylinder, holds compressed air or nitrox. Divers almost never own their own for travel: the dive center supplies filled tanks with each dive.
Safety extras
A surface marker buoy, a whistle or other signaling device, and a small cutting tool are standard extras. Many operators require a surface marker for boat and drift diving.
Buying order
What to buy first, and what to rent
Most experienced divers suggest buying in this order. Each step adds comfort or safety, and none of it locks you into expensive kit before you know how and where you like to dive.
1. Mask, snorkel and fins
These are personal, inexpensive, and make the biggest difference to your comfort. A mask that fits your face, and fins that fit your feet, are worth owning from your very first course. Try masks on in a shop: place the mask on your face without the strap, breathe in gently through your nose, and it should stay in place.
2. A dive computer
A personal dive computer stays with you on every dive and keeps an accurate record of your diving across a trip. Rental computers are fine, but you have to learn a new one every time. Choose one with a clear, readable screen and simple buttons. Many beginners prefer a console or wrist computer with easy menus over one packed with features.
3. Exposure protection
Rental wetsuits work, but one that fits you well keeps you warmer and is more hygienic. As a rough guide, many divers use a 3 mm suit in very warm tropical water, 5 mm in mild water, and 7 mm or a drysuit in cold water. People feel the cold very differently, so if you are often cold, go thicker.
4. Regulator and BCD
These are the most expensive items, and the ones most worth renting at first. Once you know what kind of diving you enjoy, whether warm-water travel, cold local diving or something more technical, you will know what to buy. Owned regulators need servicing on the schedule the manufacturer sets, so include that in the cost.
Tip: buy gear from a shop that lets you try it on and offers servicing. A good fit matters more than any brand or feature, especially for masks, fins, wetsuits and BCDs.
Care
Looking after your scuba gear
Salt, sand and sun are hard on equipment. A few habits make it last for years:
- Rinse everything in fresh water after each day of diving, and soak your regulator with the dust cap in place so water cannot get into the first stage.
- Dry gear in the shade. Sunlight damages rubber, silicone and neoprene.
- Rinse the inside of your BCD as well as the outside, and store it partly inflated.
- Store your mask in its box so the lens and skirt are not scratched or bent.
- Have your regulator and BCD serviced on schedule, and before a big trip if they have been sitting unused.
- Change your dive computer's battery before it runs low, not in the middle of a trip.
Packing gear for a dive trip
For a warm-water trip, many divers travel with a mask, fins, computer, wetsuit and maybe their own regulator, and rent the BCD, weights and tanks on arrival. Check your airline's baggage allowance before you pack heavy items, and take your computer and mask in your cabin bag. Match your exposure protection to the water at your destination. Each of our dive destination pages says what the water is like.
New to all of this? Start with the guide on how to learn to scuba dive, and read our scuba diving safety guide for the pre-dive gear checks every diver should do.
Questions
Scuba gear questions
What scuba gear should a beginner buy first?
Start with a mask, snorkel and fins that fit you well, then a dive computer. Rent the BCD, regulator, weights and tanks until you know what kind of diving you will do most.
Do I need to own scuba gear to go diving?
No. Dive centers rent full sets of equipment, and many divers rent everything for years. Owning a few personal items simply makes diving more comfortable.
What thickness of wetsuit do I need?
As a rough guide, 3 mm for very warm tropical water, 5 mm for mild water, and 7 mm or a drysuit for cold water. If you tend to feel cold, choose a thicker suit or add a hood and vest.
How often does a regulator need servicing?
Follow the manufacturer's service schedule, often every one to two years depending on the model and how much you dive. Have it checked before a trip if it has been stored for a long time.
Gear sorted? Pick a destination.
Warm reefs, cold kelp forests and everything in between.